Legendary Schenectady Restaurateur Passes Away

There are some things about Schenectady that everyone can agree with and one of them is that we have the best Italian food in the Capital Region. One of the people who can be thanked for that, passed away yesterday.

I've lived in Schenectady my entire life and one of the staples was (and still is) Perreca's Bakery. There's something about that bread and that pizza that just let me feel the Italian heritage that doesn't exist. Being Italian "by appetite" is a thing, right? I was sad to see that one of the Matriarchs of Schenectady Italian passed away yesterday.

Lilia “Lillian” Perreca Papa, a daughter of Salvatore and Carmella DeRosa Perreca who founded Perreca's Bakery, passed away yesterday, March 20th. 

Lillian worked in the bakery since she was 9 and later took over. I remember going into the bakery as recent as a few years ago and seeing her face smiling as I ordered my pizza. You could tell how proud she was of the restaurant's success. She had a great hear that showed in her love of charity, even donating the overage of bread and pizza to homeless shelters.